Those Three Last Words
by TheCupcakeMonster
Summary: Kiba finally tells Naruto his secret. But unfortunately, Naruto doesn't feel the same way. He leaves on a two month mission with Kiba's words in his head. Kiba waits for him, but Naruto comes home early. And now, Kiba's glad he said those three last words


**Those Three Last Words**

**By The Cupcake Monster**

**Full Summary: Kiba finally tells Naruto his secret. But unfortunately, Naruto doesn't feel the same way. He leaves on a two month mission with Kiba's words in his head. Kiba bitterly waits for him, but he gets a surprise when Naruto comes home early. And now, Kiba's glad that he said his last words. Birthday present for Kiba!**

**Pairing: KibaNaru (Kiba and Naruto)**

**Warning: SLIGHT yaoi, sad events...**

**Rating: T for a little yaoi, sad events, ect...**

**Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. Only this fiction.**

**Dedication: For Kiba! Happy birthday, Kiba (July 7)**

* * *

Naruto was quickly throwing items into his pack, not really looking at what he was packing. He was leaving on a two month mission that day, and he hadn't prepared at all, while the rest of his teammates - Sakura, Neji, Shikamaru, Hinata and Shino - had been training and getting things together for the trip for weeks. Now that it was the day of, well…Naruto wished he would have written himself a note.

He had already said goodbye to the rest of his friends, but two months was hardly anything to them. He'd be back eventually, and he doubted most of them would miss his loud, annoying personality anyways.

Just as he was digging under his bed for his jacket, he heard a knock at the door. Grumbling to himself, he stumbled to the door and threw it open, a bit irritable since he had been rushing around since dawn trying to get ready.

Kiba stood before him, and Naruto blinked. Kiba was his best friend, so it wasn't unusual for him to want to be the last one to wave Naruto off, but he looked uneasy. He fidgeted, his head down, and Naruto searched his feet for Akamaru, but the ninja dog wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Yeah?" Naruto said, a little too harshly. The last thing he wanted to do was leave with his best friend angry with him. "Come on in." Naruto held the door open, and Kiba stepped in reluctantly, like he never been inside Naruto's house before and was just getting used to what it looked like. "So?"

Kiba paused, his eyes darting around the room, as if he was looking for his answer.

"Before you go…" He began, raising his head to meet Naruto's confused gaze. Kiba looked…scared, dare he say it. Nervous, almost. That definitely wasn't like the oh-so-arrogant Kiba, who acted like he was still an annoying little kid. Naruto wondered what possibly could have made Kiba act so anxious. "I want to tell you something."

"Alright, go ahead," Naruto said, crossing his arms and impatiently waiting for Kiba to continue. Whatever was wrong, it had to be pretty serious for Kiba to be standing there in front of him, looking like he was on the brink of tears. Naruto didn't know if he should be worried, or pissed off by Kiba's behavior.

Kiba's next action gave him a little of both.

He lunged forward and shoved Naruto against the opposite wall, shaking the furniture as Kiba pinned the blonde by lifting his knee between his legs and twisting his wrists above Naruto.

Naruto opened his mouth to angrily protest, but was closed by Kiba's own mouth, jabbing his tongue in. Naruto's eyes widened, struggling feebly against Kiba's surprisingly strong hold. He couldn't say anything, as Kiba's lips were crushing his, bruising them, desperately mapping out Naruto's mouth. Naruto briefly tried to push the invading appendage out, but gave up eventually.

But Kiba wanted more than just a kiss.

He pulled away, both of them panting, salvia dripping down their chins.

"Naruto, I--" Kiba stopped, fumbling with the words before starting over. "Naruto, I love you."

"…" The look on Naruto's face was enough to dampen Kiba's heart, and he turned around, not wanting to see it anymore. "Kiba I didn't---I didn't realize you--" Naruto bit his lip, unable to come up with anything reassuring. It was extremely off-putting, now that he knew Kiba…_loved _him.

"No, it's okay!" Kiba insisted, laughing to show Naruto it was no big deal. But Naruto saw through it immediately. "Sorry, I guess I just wanted to tell you…before you left. You know." Kiba began to depart, his body hunched, as if he was already crying. When Naruto leapt to him and spun him around, he saw that Kiba was indeed, crying. Naruto couldn't remember the last time Kiba cried.

Kiba flinched away from Naruto's advances and scurried out the open door, and Naruto didn't follow. He didn't know what to think. He knew he couldn't return Kiba's feelings, and that was the worst part. He wanted nothing more than to feel the same way for Kiba and live happily ever after, but he knew he couldn't. He couldn't force himself to fall in love, but he didn't know how to tell Kiba that. He wished Kiba would have said something _before _he left for the mission. He didn't think he would be able to concentrate for two whole months, knowing that Kiba was back at Konoha. Loving.

He could go after him and talk with him, explaining why it couldn't work between them. But that would be even more awkward. Kiba had said he just wanted to say it before Naruto left, and he respected that. There was nothing more to say. Kiba had said it, he shouldn't expect anything else.

But Naruto knew he had hoped. He had prayed and hoped that Naruto would feel the same way. Now that he knew Naruto didn't, it was sad for both of them.

Narito was guilty, but he couldn't change how he felt. It was how it had to be. Nothing more.

Sighing, Naruto shouldered his pack and made his way to the front gates, where his team was waiting for him. As he walked towards them, he shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, which consisted of nothing but Kiba. If he had sprinted home, tears flying behind him, and slammed the door to his apartment, cursing Naruto to hell. Or if he had just kept walking, numb.

Whatever he was doing, Naruto knew it couldn't be good.

This wasn't how he wanted to leave it, but there wasn't much he could do at that point. He was already late, Kiba was already gone…

Maybe, once Kiba went through two months without Naruto, he'd understand that he shouldn't be depressed just because one guy didn't love him back. Kiba was a great person, anyone would be lucky to have him.

But that anyone wasn't Naruto.

Things would never be the same.

Two months never passed.

Kiba didn't speak to anyone for the longest time. Without Naruto, it was like part of the sun was gone. Naruto had rejected him. That was the only thought in Kiba's brain, the one eating away at his will to live. He kept reminding himself that it wasn't Naruto's fault, and he shouldn't be bitter, but that was a bit hard when he had been storing up this moment until the perfect time came around. Kiba didn't think he would be able to handle two months with the feelings bottled inside him. He had gone years with the huge secret, it was too much. He definitely hadn't expected Naruto to…

He waited. He waited miserably for Naruto to come back, though there was nothing he could do once Naruto returned. It was over, it was done, Kiba told himself. He should just get over it already.

That was a lot harder than it sounded.

The only thing that really kept him going was their last kiss. Sure, it was one-sided and forced, but it was still wonderful, the best kiss Kiba had ever given. Naruto's lips were so mouthwatering, and even though Kiba knew he would never taste them again, it was all that filled his dreams.

Only about 37 days passed before they came back. Kiba was sitting at home, brooding, when he got a loud pounding at his door. He grimaced as the sound made his head ache, and he stood up to answer it.

To his surprise, it was Sakura. There were tears in her bloodshot eyes, her clothes tousled, obviously old, she had worn them for a few days. But why was she back so early?

"K-Kiba…" She whispered. "C-can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure!" Kiba held open the door for her, and she glided in, looking barely more than a shadow, a ghost. She was skinnier, her face stark, her hair grown long past her shoulders, but it was matted, like she hadn't taken a shower in days. If Sakura wanted to talk to him, she could have least gotten cleaned up…

He offered Sakura to sit, but she said no, pacing instead.

"So what's up?" Kiba asked, but he could hear his own voice; it wasn't interesting, bored and cold. He'd stopped caring.

"Kiba, I-I don't know how…" Sakura took a deep breath, and Kiba shuffled his feet. Seeing Sakura cry was unsettling. Sakura didn't cry, she punched people. She looked completely drained. "Kiba, Naruto got hurt."

"W-what…?"

"On the mission, there were tons of enemies…t-they were too strong. Naruto protected all of us…h-he got really torn up. He's at the hospital. I thought you'd…y-you'd want to know."

Kiba's heart sunk into his feet. He knew there were always going to be dangers on Naruto's mission, that's one of the reasons Kiba told Naruto when he did. In case…something happened.

But he never would have expected something _actually would happen. _It was too terrible to think about his beloved Naruto leaving him!

He eagerly followed Sakura to the hospital, and she explained more to him on the way there. They had, in fact, returned yesterday but they didn't want the whole village to know quite yet, hoping they could do something before it got too serious.

They weren't that lucky.

Kiba could tell Sakura wasn't telling him something, just by how tense she was when she spoke about Naruto's condition, the way she wouldn't meet his eyes, the way fresh tears spilled over when she told him Naruto had been unconscious for a while now; they had to carry him back to Konoha.

With a lump in his throat, Kiba burst into Naruto's hospital room, and his breath caught.

Naruto was, indeed, unconscious, laying completely still on the narrow bed. Every visible inch of his body was covered in bloody bandages, shielding his left eye while the other one was black and blue around the edges. IVs were stuck all over his arms, leading to several different kind of medicines, one of water since he was severely dehydrated because he wouldn't wake up to drink.

Kiba stepped closer, but it seemed to take an eternity for him to reach Naruto. He just stared at first, feeling Sakura's sad gaze behind him.

"There's a chair in the corner," Sakura said. "Stay as long as you want. I have…I-I have some things to take care of."

"Thanks," Kiba replied shakily, hearing Sakura quietly shut the door and walk off, her footsteps fading the farther she got.

Kiba took the chair and pushed it against the bed as close as it would go and took Naruto's hand, carefully, making sure not to squeeze too hard, afraid that he would hurt the fragile blonde.

He didn't cry. He wouldn't allow that yet. He didn't want to cry anymore, he had cried over Naruto too much this past month. He just couldn't.

So he sat there, staring at Naruto's motionless form, their hands clasped. He said nothing, he did nothing. He sat there all day. When the nurses came in to inject more medicine into the blonde, Kiba would politely stand by and watch, and when they left, he would go back to his chair. They gave Naruto painkillers, because he had broken his left arm, his nose, a few ribs, and his right ankle. When he woke up, he would surely be in a lot of pain.

At the end of the day, he was advised to go home, but Kiba refused. He knew he couldn't sleep knowing Naruto was still at the hospital, alone. So he was given a blanket and pillow, and he situated it on the chair to make him more comfortable, though he would not sleep.

And that's how he spent the next three days. He hardly ate, but when Sakura insisted that he had to, he'd go with her to the hospital cafeteria and down about five cups of coffee.

Naruto still didn't wake up. His heart monitor was slow, but steady, and that's what lulled Kiba to sleep. Well, more like thirty minute naps.

But on the fourth day of this confinement, Kiba heard voices on the outside of the door, and he strained his ears to listen. It was Sakura and Lady Tsunade, the Hokage.

"…already knew it," Sakura was saying, her voice choked. "I just wished it wasn't true."

"I'm sorry, Sakura," Tsunade said, and Kiba narrowed his eyes and how sincere she sounded. "We did everything we could, I promise you. It was just…"

"I-I understand."

"We should…spread the word."

"I don't know how Kiba's going to take it." Kiba bristled. "He…Naruto told me what happened the day we left. Kiba just burst in on him, confessing that he loved him."

_He told her! _Kiba thought in horror. _Why would he tell? He didn't even care! _But Kiba wasn't really that mad. So Sakura knew. He couldn't care less about what people thought of him at that point. He couldn't stop loving, so he might as well forget about trying.

"Wow. I never would have guessed," Tsunade replied. "But that's…he's not going to be happy. Naruto saved all of you, don't forget that. It wasn't in vain."

"Let's not say anything until…until we're absolutely sure," Sakura said, with a sharp intake of breath.

"We _are _absolutely sure," Tsunade sighed sadly. "Naruto's…gone."

That's when Kiba cried.

He cried harder than he ever had before, but he tried to keep his sobs quiet so no one would come in to investigate.

But it was so hard to keep from howling his heart out in disbelief. He clenched Naruto's hand until his knuckles turned white. He knew he hadn't misheard, or misunderstood. He knew what it meant, he knew what was going to happen.

Naruto was going to die.

The sixth day, it was completely decided. Kiba had been told, and even though he already knew, he still cried. Right in front of Sakura. But it didn't embarrass him like it normally would. He didn't care what happened anymore. He was losing the one person he could always trust, who never thought badly of him.

Up until now…

Naruto was so thin, it was terrifying. His bones showed through his skin, and his cheeks sagged. Kiba was even more miserable that Naruto hadn't even woken up to say goodbye. They would never go on missions together anymore, they would never train together, they would never ditch school. It was all over.

All he had were those dreaded, three last words. Three last words that Naruto hadn't wanted to hear.

Kiba didn't notice when Sakura tiptoed into Naruto's room, standing next to Kiba as he rested his head on Naruto's bed. He didn't move when Sakura put her hand on his drooped shoulder.

"He wanted me to tell you something," she said, and Kiba raised his eyebrows, but remained silent. "He wanted you to know that…that nothing would ever come between you. He said he'll always be your best friend, no matter what. He said he wanted to talk to you before he left, but he didn't think it would be right. He didn't want to upset you more. He just…he loves you too…j-just in a different w-way…" Sakura lost herself at the end, bringing her hand to her face, sniffling slightly into it.

Despite everything, Kiba smiled. For the first time in what seemed like years, he smiled. Naruto really did care about him, so much in fact, that he felt guilty about his own feelings.

Even though nothing came out of it, Kiba was glad he told Naruto. He was glad he got it off his chest, or he never would have gotten that chance again. He was glad Naruto knew, and would always know even when he left this world. He was glad that Naruto would be watching him and understand what Kiba was going through, what he felt, everything.

Because of those three last words.

And he kept smiling, until Sakura left him be when he didn't answer, and when Naruto's heart monitor slowed to one, loud beep. And when the doctors rushed in as they got the alarm of Naruto flat-lining, Kiba smiled as he watched them try to wake him up, and failed.

He smiled when they walked up to him and shook their heads, and he smiled when Naruto was taken from the hospital.

He even smiled when it rained at Naruto's funeral.

* * *

A/N: Ohhh man. Happy birthday Kiba!! XD Sorry it's late, I actually had it done on Kiba's birthday but when I tried to bring up my documents, internet explorer would quit -.- sooo I tried FOREVER and I finally got it! So..it's late :( Oh well.  
And yes it's sad. I couldn't really think of anything happy for Kiba XD Sorry Kiba. But it's still cute right?  
Please review!

~ The Cupcake Monster


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